📈 Driving growth in CEE banking
Key takeaways from Paola Papanicolaou's remarks at the Invisso Forum in Vienna.
📆 January, 14th.
Paola Papanicolaou, Chief of the International Banks Division, spoke at the Invisso Central & Eastern European Forum in Vienna.
Highlights
During the roundtable “Growth, Change, Opportunities. Forces shaping CEE's banking sector”, Paola Papanicolaou provided her insights on driving growth and digital transformation in Central & Eastern Europe.
On the role of banks in the CEE region
“As banks, I think it is fundamental that we put our energy in supporting the growth of the region. How can we do that? First, by sustaining the public sector, there is lots of infrastructure that still needs to be built. Second is to be a stable partner of our business clients. Declining interest rates will encourage companies to invest more, and this will support the growth of the region. Investments in IT infrastructure and digital transformation is important for the growth of the region. Third is to support infra-country growth of the region. This is something that we as banks should push looking at the future of the region.”On digital banks
“Intesa Sanpaolo has invested €5 billion in its digital transformation. We created a digital challenger bank in Italy to start the transformation, while retaining the traditional banking system. It’s an enabler for our customers to choose the service model that they prefer. What clients are asking for is simplicity, transparency, something that is accessible and easy to use. This is an opportunity for all of us. And we firmly believe that the human touch will always be necessary. For the Private client or an entrepreneur, having a human point of reference, a banking expert, is a winning feature.”On sector consolidation
“Let’s keep in mind, when a digital bank can grow millions of clients in a year, are we certain that M&A is the future?”